Firefighters respond to Marietta Captain D’s

January 19, 2013

MARIETTA - Two fire trucks responded and diners had to be evacuated as a fire caused Captain D's restaurant to fill with smoke Friday.

The Marietta Police Department received a call from Captain D's, 104 Pike St., around 7:33 p.m. saying there was smoke in the building, said Capt. Jack Hansis of the Marietta Fire Department.

"By the time we arrived, the smoke had made it about halfway down toward the floor," said Hansis.

Article Photos

Photo by Jasmine RogersFirefighters from the Marietta Fire Department responded Friday night to a fire that broke out in an air handling unit on the roof of Captain D’s restaurant, 104 Pike St. The fire caused the restaurant to fill with smoke.

The fire broke out in an air handler, a unit on the restaurant's roof that handles heating and cooling, said Lt. Larry Bargeloh with the fire department.

Firefighters cut power to the building and accessed the roof via ladder. There they contained the fire with a large extinguisher, said Hansis.

The department investigated the ceiling space between the roof and restaurant and determined it was undamaged, he said.

"We got it before it was able to get into the main building," said Hansis.

The fire was called as under control by 7:43, he said.

The restaurant's manager declined to say how many patrons had been inside, referring all questions to Captain D's corporate headquarters.

Five employees gathered outside also declined to comment.

All customers had vacated by the time the fire department arrived, said Hansis.

The extent of the damage is unknown, but relatively little smoke managed to get into the kitchen, said Hansis. "Most restaurants have two of these air handlers on the roof, so most of the smoke was coming down one side," he said.

After containing the fire, the department began to ventilate the remaining smoke out of the restaurant.

Employees were allowed to re-enter the building to initiate clean-up shortly after 8 p.m., he said.

The department was still working to determine the cause of the initial fire, said Hansis.

It is unclear if the restaurant will open today.

The restaurant manager said the health department would first have to inspect the site.